~ Deliciousness required

Raised Buckwheat Waffles

These waffles. Oh man, these waffles. They may be the best thing to come out of my kitchen in a long while. And that is a serious statement from someone who has started the year strong in the cooking department. (Don’t ask about other aspects of my life. Let’s just say there are a few extra dust bunnies lurking in odd corners waiting for the baby to find them. And there MAY just be a mountain of post-pregnancy clothes waiting to be boxed up, still sitting on top of my dresser two weeks later. Ahem.)

Anyway, where was I? These waffles! Right. After hemming and hawwing for, oh I don’t know, two years, I finally caved and bought the waffle grid attachment for my Griddler. And now I’m kicking myself for not getting it sooner, if only so we could have eaten these waffles.

I’m not overselling them, and you’ll see why. Their pedigree is flawless. They come to us from Marion Cunningham, aka the maven of breakfast foods. When cooked right, they have a crisp, almost crackly exterior. The inside is soft and thanks to the yeast in the batter (which gets an overnight rest on your kitchen counter), has an almost sourdough taste. And the addition of buckwheat is pure genius. Who knew maple syrup and buckwheat were a match made in waffle heaven? So, so good. Our resident 10 month old ate two, which should be enough of an endorsement.

And if I had to pick the top reason to make these, it would be the aforementioned overnight rest. You stir the ingredients together the night before, and leave it out to rise and swell and get yeasty. And the next morning, you’re just a heated waffle iron away from breakfast. I see these becoming a weekly tradition. The batter makes a generous dozen, and leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to a week if you don’t want to use it all up at once.

Raised Buckwheat Waffles

Recipe from The Breakfast Book, via Orangette

½ cup warm water

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (NOT Rapid Rise yeast)

2 cups whole milk, warmed

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup buckwheat flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

¼ tsp baking soda

Pour the water into a large mixing bowl. (The batter will rise to double its volume, so keep that in mind when you choose the bowl.) Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand to dissolve, about 5 minutes. Then add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flours, and stir well, until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature.

When you’re ready to cook the waffles, preheat a waffle maker to medium high (this varies based on the brand and type of waffle maker you have).

Just before cooking the waffles, add the eggs and baking soda to the yeasted batter, and stir to mix well. The batter will be very thin. Pour an appropriate amount of batter into your hot waffle maker: this amount will vary from machine to machine. Cook until golden and crisp. Note: If you are using a Belgian style waffle maker like me, your waffles may not rise all the way to fill the top but will still cook well. Never mind, flip them over when serving – the underside will be beautiful J